A former broadcasting student returned to campus Monday to tell students lessons of the hope she has gained in her profession in the media.
Sunny Layne graduated in 2005 to start a successful career in broadcast journalism and now works as a news anchor in Waterloo, Iowa. The message of her lecture was one of optimism.
“It feels like yesterday I was in your seat,” Layne said. “One thing I’m not going to do is give you a gloom and doom. Sometimes the speakers do that, and I don’t think it helps anyone.”
Layne said she believes there are four qualities a journalist needs to be successful.
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In her opinion, the excitement of being on TV is not enough to push a prospective journalist through the hardships of the profession.
“Find what you love and follow it,” she said. “This is a great job. It is a backstage pass to life.”
She shared exciting stories of meeting politicians, celebrities and everyday heroes. These stories helped illustrate the great experiences that await young broadcast journalists.
She also shared some horror stories. One experience in particular stuck out in her mind as a perfect example of what students could face while finding a job in the field.
Layne said she went into an interview full of hope only to find a “Professor Snape” look-alike. He was smoking a pipe and it seemed his only goal was to make her cry. But she said the whole time she was telling herself in her head to stay tough.
“I’m not giving in to him,” she said.
She said she thinks all journalists need to acquire a thick skin to deal with the harsh criticism they are constantly exposed to.
“To be tough you have to look at it and say, ‘does this have a tiny bit of truth to it?’ If so, I can change a little,”
she said. “But normal people don’t email news stations. So I don’t worry about it too much.”
While working for the Today show in New York, she said she met some people who were quite intimidating.
“Most people were so nice,” she said. “But there was one producer, I swear she wanted to drink my blood.”
Despite the difficulties, Layne told students if they loved the profession, then they should never give up.
“Don’t get discouraged,” she said. “Sometimes you just have to be tough.”
